Just as it would be a shame to go to a school based on finance it would also be a shame to go to a school solely based on name recognition. I have several friends who opted for schools based on name recognition and were very unhappy because they did not choose a school based on student body, atmosphere, location. If that school you feel best at happens to be a "name" school than that's a great place for you to go. But don't go there solely based on that idea. It's four intense years of your life that will nearly break you sometimes and you should go where you feel like you fit in best--regardless of reputation. Also, medical schools aren't exactly comparable to undergrad or other professional schools. There are far fewer med schools and almost all of them are considered reputable because of strict licensing standards. So go to the school you feel best at. I think reputation only becomes a significant factor if you want a career in research.
Additionally, UTHSCSA is not an "inferior school." We have world-renowned faculty, amazing research opportunities, and our students score high on the USMLE similar to most medical schools in the country. The student body is composed of students from Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Rice, Penn, Berkely, Duke, WashU, Wellsely (spelling?)...We have high diversity in race, age, socioeconomic status, and occupation (for example, students born and raised in places other than the U.S. like Africa and Switzerland, a vet, teachers, accountants, minor-league professional soccer player, single parents, peaceCorps, Americorps...). Many students come to UTHSCSA because of the clinical option of doing third year in Harlingen (predominantly Mexican population which speak little English and have little access to healthcare so third years get to conduct clinical procedures that usually residents preform in other clinical settings = more hands on experience in practice and with attendings). Our Match list results are probably very similar to the rest of the country--If I remember at least 90% of the 4th years matched into their 1st or 2nd choices and into programs all over the U.S (neurosurgury, derm...UCLA, J. Hopkins...). Residency programs also like diversity and when a program only takes 8 students those 8 students are not all going to be from the same private college. Also San Antonio is close to Austin which is an amazingggggggg city to be a 20 or 30 something.
Posts, where students try to suggest that their school is a better school, are a bit premature because in actuality they don't know because they've only attended one medical school. All one can offer is why they like their school--they can't assert if their school is "superior." The quality of education you get will be more or less similar at any med school because of the strict licensing guidelines. You should choose a school based on your specificity--are you interested in a certain research field, do you care about competition and personality of the student body, do you care about location...This is not an I hate Tulane response! I have a relative who has gone there and loved it. New Orleans is a great city and I'm sure every one of the above posters truly loves their school and feels like they made the best choice. I had the option of attending an "upper, lower, or middle tier" school and I'm very happy about my choice at UTHSCSA. I think you should go where you feel most comfortable and you'll be very happy at your school too.
